India to hire fitness coach

India will appoint a fitness coach after John Wright admitted his side were not fit enough, Board of Control for Cricket in India said on Tuesday.

"We have approved the idea and the team will have a dedicated physical trainer in place before they leave for the West Indies in April," said BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya.

New Zealander Wright, who took over as India's first foreign coach in 2000, had criticised the team's poor fielding despite their innings win over Zimbabwe in the first of two tests at Nagpur on Monday.

Fitness and fielding being perennial areas of weakness in a talented side, the Indians have come under renewed criticism with skipper Saurav Ganguly and wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta made the prime targets after fumbling several times in recent matches.

Dalmiya said the immediate priority was to achieve peak fitness levels by the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

REPORT SHELVED

The BCCI's working committee decided to shelve a report by former Australian coach Geoff Marsh on how to improve Indian domestic cricket.

Marsh was brought in as a consultant by the board two years ago to suggest a more competitive domestic structure, but his preliminary report had not impressed the board.

"That chapter has been closed," Dalmiya said.

The BCCI said they will prepare bouncier pitches in India, starting with the Test venues, after facing criticism that the country's poor overseas record was largely due to its running the domestic game on flat tracks.

India's traditional home superiority is attributed to their spinners, but Dalmiya said many such victories had come on underprepared pitches rather than on genuine turners.

"Don't expect us to come up with a pitch like the WACA, but we will try to create the best possible wickets in India," he said referring to Perth, regarded as a fast bowler's paradise.

The plan is expected to be implemented next season.

Mail Cricket Editor